Transonic of The Lights

Because I detest the X-Men, I'm only finding out now that in mid 2010, Marvel Comics introduced a Canadian character among a new group of mutants (because if there's one thing lacking in the Marvel Universe, it's a few more mutants).

The image below is a variant cover for Generation Hope #1 and it features one Laurie Tromette from Vancouver.  She would later adopt the nickname Transonic.  While the artwork is by Greg Land, I was not able to identify the porn actress he probably traced it from.

So what's Transonic's deal?  As I understand it, there was a period of time during which no more mutants were supposed to emerge.  Theoreticaly then, mutants were facing extinction.

Knowing Marvel Comics as we do, that scenario wasn't going to last very long.  Faster than you can say "We need more Wolverine books", Marvel opened the door for mutants to begin appearing again.  Laurie Tromette was the first of the Five Lights; The bunch of mutants that were introduced following that event.

Tromette made her first appearance in Uncanny X-Men #526.  She bookends the primary story.  In the first couple of pages, she is seen freaking out because she's in pain, her skin is turning blue and her hair is falling out.

I'm not sure what the issue is; Doesn't sound much different than my maple whiskey hangovers.

In any event, in the final few pages of main portion of the book, Tromette takes the only logical course of action in dealing with her discomfort and prepares to jump off a building.  But wouldn't you know it...

So that worked out nicely.  That is especially true for Hope Summers (that's her arm around 'sonic's waist in the above image), who also chose the most logical course of action when facing a suicide jumper.  That is, jump after her and try to talk her out of it in mid-drop.

Beyond that initial storyline, Transonic was a part of the Generation Hope series during its 17-issue duration and was later seen in the Avengers Academy book.

There was another Canadian-content surprise in this book.  No, not the mandatory Wolverine appearance, since nothing could be less surprising.  Rather, former Alpha Flight member Madison Jeffries pops by in a sub-plot in which members of the team tries to figure out why Kitty Pride can not turn off her phasing ability.  It's nothing more than a cameo but still an unexpected treat.

Box Jr.

Credit to the alphaflight.net, through their Twitter account, for drawing my attention to "a classic Alpha Flight character's legacy" appearing in Marvel Comics' "Infinity: The Hunt" book.  Even assuming (accurately) that the character's contributions would be minimal, I had to pick up the book out of curiosity.

And I have to admit I was rather surprised.

Roger Bochs Jr studies at the Braddock Academy.  He represents the Academy in what is meant to be a version of the Contest of Champions mini-series from 1982.  In this story, various schools (including Avengers Academy, the Future Foundation, the Jean Grey School, etc.) are preparing to compete against one another for "the ultimate title of...champion!"

While never a personal favourite, to the best of my knowledge the Box character was quite popular.  It was refreshing, and easy to appreciate, having a paraplegic character on a superhero team.

But like many Alpha Flight characters during Bill Mantlo's run, much of what made Roger Bochs appealing was gradually striped away.  He was killed off in issue #49 of the original series.  The Box armour lived on through Madison Jeffries and his abilities to control metal, but Bochs was a one of those rare deaths that actually stuck.

That the Box armour would resurface is not cause for surprise, but that Roger Bochs had a son is, at least to me.  I'm going to look, but I can not recall any mention of a significant relationship in his background, much less having a kid.   Hopefully the series touches on that during its remaining three issues.

It also leads me to thinking of what could have been.  In the insultingly stupid third volume of Alpha Flight, it was revealed that Puck had a daughter.

Yeah, aside from that, you couldn't tell them apart.

Now "Puck II" appeared to be among the Flight characters killed in Avengers #16 (2006) but we all know how that goes.  Hell, Guardian alone has died about five times.

Shaman's daughter Talisman has already been a member of the team (and of Omega Flight, for that matter).  If the second Puck were to be revived, that would already be three second-generation characters.  And a varied bunch at that.

According to this Hunt series, there are "super schools" in Japan, England, Wakanda and in a number of locations in the United States.  Why not Canada?  If Marvel is fairly convinced that the Alpha Flight "brand" is dead, then perhaps a team of youngsters, many of whom have ties to the original team, is the method by which they can rejuvenate it.

Puck's Got Better Things To Do.

Unresolved issue.  That's the other thing that has bugged me about the news that Puck would join X-Force.  Never mind that his motivation to join such a group is unclear, he has a clear option if he's looking for a hobby.

Here is the "team" Puck should be on.

Mug shots lifted from the impressive uncannyxmen.net site

Guardian, Puck, Madison Jeffries and, yes, Wolverine.  Of course, Wolverine.  But aside from milking his popularity, he would have a specific cause to appear.  Their mission should be to locate/apprehend...

Disclaimer: This is said not having read any of Jeffries' appearances in the X family of books.  I don't even know if he's of sound mind or what.  For that matter, I have no idea about Puck's mental state either (or how he got out of hell.  But I digress).

These are the four gentlemen who are closest to Heather/Vindicator.  But there are also close friendships within the group.  And those could be strained depending on individual motivation.

If it wasn't bad enough that Heather took off with Guardian's daughter, she also killed two people to snatch her.  Maybe the intention was to resolve that issue in future issues when Alpha Flight was expected to be an ongoing series, but regardless of the reason, it's a dangling loose end I find irritating.

This doesn't have to be a team as such, just a bunch of guys with the same goal but perhaps different motivation.  Guardian needs to step up the search for his kid.  Among the others, one might feel she needs to be apprehended for her crimes, another may feel she can be restored to her "old self".  Another might actually want to defend her ("she wasn't responsible for her actions") and take her side.  There are plenty of possibilities there.

If the recent Alpha Flight title didn't sell all that well, then it's difficult to believe that Marvel would release a limited series in order to give closure to an unfinished storyline that relatively few people read.  This might be addressed in one of Wolverine's twenty-something books as a multi-part arc.  The storyline is an obvious one, but the motivation and character dynamics are what could make it outstanding.

Not going to happen, but in terms of Alpha Flight, it's at the top of my wish list right now.

Spring Vacation Reading part 2: Weapon-X The Underground TPB

I began picking up Weapon-X issues on the cheap for the simple reason that the series involves several Canadian characters, good and bad, including a few members of Alpha Flight.

I started with the Aurora and Wild Child "draft" issue, then gradually acquired issues 1-5 (The Hunt for Sabretooth) of the regular series.  I stopped by Silver Snail in Ottawa earlier in the week and, as they tend to sell their graphic novels at 20% of the U.S. price, could not resist getting The Underground.  It collects issues 6-13 of the series in one relatively inexpensive shot.

Is it any good?  Well, it depends...

If you're a big Alpha Flight fan, you likely already know all about the series.  Let's assume you are, but that you don't.

Will you get to see some of those characters that you love?  Sure!  In addition to the two named above, Madison Jeffries also appears.  He is not seen often, mind you, but his role is quite significant.

You just may not like what you see.

Keeping things relatively spoiler-free (and starting with the draft issue), Aurora starts as a drooling vegetable that the program attempts to rehab.  She is physically brutalized on two occasions.  Wild Child is little more than a recipient of both physical and mental abuse, depending on who happens to do the abusing.  Madison Jeffries is essentially brainwashed into assisting the Weapon-X program to commit atrocities.  Diamond Lil has a cameo...in which she is beaten into submission.  That's a lot of abuse to witness in only 14 issues.

So there are plenty of Canadian characters featured (Garrison Kane, while not a personal favourite, is another).  The story has a number of surprises, twists, betrayals, etc.  On that basis, I personally enjoyed the book a lot.

But if you are attached to these characters, you certainly won't see them in their best light.